Guillaume Brahimi to leave the Opera House

Guillaume Brahimi in his restaurant at the Bennelong site in the Opera House. Photo: Nic Walker

Guillaume Brahimi will leave the Sydney Opera House at the end of the year, after almost 12 years running a restaurant at the site.

The owner and head chef of two-hatted Guillaume at Bennelong, announced today that he will not submit a tender for the site due to conflicting visions between himself and the Opera House Trust.

The restaurant space was put out to tender for the first time in a decade in May, with applications closing today.

"Our goal was always to run one of the best restaurants in the country, befitting such an iconic venue. The Opera House Trust is now seeking a bistro style restaurant, cafe and bar. This clearly involves a very different vision," Brahimi said.

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“I accept their vision but my vision 12 years ago was to have a fine dining restaurant and to try to be the best at what I do. Twelve years later, my vision is the same, if not stronger.”

“It's an end of an era for the Opera House. Guillaume, in his years there, has honoured everything that the Opera House has stood for and offered us a unique and special experience … It's a shame that you aren't going to be able to have that same experience anymore.”

He said Brahimi “has been one of the key contributors to great Sydney dining for the past 20 years”.

“The Sydney Opera House deserves a great restaurant inside it as well as buzzy bistros and fresh seafood specialists and coffee houses. It’s the place from which to show off Sydney,” Durack said.

“At Bennelong, [Brahimi] honoured the iconic Opera House site with elegant, rich, lush, bourgeois French cooking, informed by a modern Sydney sensibility. He made the place his own and that’s what you have to do, otherwise you are just a tenant.”

Sydney Opera House commercial director David Watson described Guillaume at Bennelong as "a fixture of the Opera House" and thanked Brahimi for "his very significant contribution".

"As we said when we announced the tender, it is not in any way an expression of dissatisfaction with existing operators. All of our dining venues are operated under contract, most of which have been in place for more than a decade and expire in the first half of 2014," Watson said.

"We are required to conduct a public tender for our expiring food and beverage contracts in line with NSW Government procurement policy."

He said the tender was "an opportunity to ensure our food and beverage offering aligns with our overarching ambition" to make the Opera House more accessible.

"It is about the mix: greater diversity, more price points, and dining experiences that are open more often to more of our 8.2 million visitors each year."

He said an annoucement on the tender would be made "as soon as responses have been properly considered”.

35 comments

What, and only yesterday he was on Master Chef!

Commenter

wdawes

Location

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 2:00PM

Yes, he has a bistro in Perth and that's where the show as. Sad to see Guillaume go but my one experience there they billed us for two bottles of wine although we only had one and they wouldn't hear of it! They virtually accused us of lying. Great meal, but I never went back just on principle.

Commenter

luke r

Location

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 2:41PM

Very hard to get a booking overt the phone, especially as the Bear could never remember the name of the restaurant. Went once. Degaustation menu and lots of nice wine, in a booth. Felt very fat. Lot's of fun. Never forget it!

Commenter

TBear

Location

Snazzy Cave (Sydney)

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 2:02PM

As I have learned from experience, people who run venues do not necessarily know the difference between a Boeuf Wellington and a steak pie...

Commenter

RobW

Location

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 2:13PM

I agree with Durack, the Opera House needs a fine dining restaurant along with the bars & bistros, it somehow lowers the tone of the place if it is solely casual drinks and dining

Commenter

Untamed Snark

Location

Never where you'd expect

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 2:39PM

No doubt, what Terry Durack would like to see is a fine dining restaurant, few funky small bars, couple of casual bistros by Justin Hemmes and few take-away joints as well, all serving organic produce from within 10 miles of Opera House.

Real shame that those concert and other performing arts halls are taking up all the room. They should move those out and turn Opera House into one big foodie paradise, like Ivy.

Commenter

Punters Pal

Location

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 3:27PM

I love a good bistro but that location deserves so much more. The administrators have got it wrong. A special and unique building such as the Opera House demands a special and unique restaurant. Brahimi has consistently delivered that. If they have any idea at all they should go on bended knee and beg him to stay.

Commenter

BL

Location

Neutral Bay

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 4:54PM

What an absolute disgrace and what a short-sighted and barbaric view taken by the Opera House Trust. The iconic venue demands the iconic dining experience that Guillaume has been delivering these past 12 years.

Commenter

Yogi

Location

Sydney

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 2:44PM

We definitely need something that is open to everyone rather than a fine dining venue. I think someone like Hemmes could open another beer hall and give it some clever name like Harbours. A nice place for drinks with big apesque bouncers on the door who when they don't like you could drag you down to the Stage Door and give you a good belting and then hurl the recalcitrants into the harbour.A place that everyone can identify with, who needs culture and finery.

Commenter

Mike

Location

Sydney

Date and time

July 02, 2013, 2:53PM

Mike have you ever been to the Opera house? There are a number of restaurants on the concourse level open to everyone as you put it.